Family members cry at the funeral service yesterday for slain multiple murder accused, Peter Garcia. Garcia was gunned down in cold blood last Monday on the compound of the Rio Claro Magistrates Court. Photo: Rishi Ragoonath

Dozens of heavily armed police officers yesterday stood guard as relatives and friends came out to mourn the death of murdered prisoner, Peter Garcia yesterday. The officers, who were armed with automatic rifles and wore bullet proof vests, were positioned at the front of D Boodoo’s Funeral Home in Rio Claro, as well as at the Rio Claro Cemetery. Their presence came after repeated requests by Garcia’s relatives who were scared for their lives, fearing reprisal action over the cold blooded killing. At the funeral home, Garcia’s daughter Daniella held onto her father’s coffin and wept uncontrollably while other relatives stood in silence.

One relative, who refused to be named, said he was scared for his life because he did not know if the men who killed Garcia would return. “This is a fearful time for us. I know the police is here and while that still gives us a little comfort, we still wonder what will happen afterward because we know that there is still more (violence) to come,” the relative said. Another relative lamented the manner in which Garcia died saying that “he did not have to go that way.”

Flashback
Garcia, who was once regarded as Trinidad’s most wanted, was executed by two gunmen as he exited the Rio Claro Magistrates’ Court around 10:30 am on October 19. The police constables who were escorting him back to the Rio Claro Police Station ran for cover, as a man dressed in coveralls and wearing a hard hat shot him at point blank range with an automatic firearm. While the lawmen fled, the second gunman calmly walked up to the bleeding Garcia and pumped five more bullets into his head and chest. Garcia was accused of killing two of his older brothers, wounding Sherwin Wilson with intent to murder and was a suspect in an arson attack on his mother Elaine’s home.